Benjamin Coffin III
Benjamin 'Benny' Coffin III is an ex-roommate of Maureen Johnson, Mark Cohen and Tom Collins, and Roger Davis. He is portrayed in the movie and the original production by Taye Diggs. He is one of the lesser seen of the eight major characters. Biography Around September, three months prior to the beginning of the show, he and Mimi Marquez were presumably in a relationship.La Vie Boheme Around the time that Mimi and Benny broke up, he met Alison Grey, and married her sometime in November or December, before purchasing the building that used to house him, and the room that he lived in before moving into Alison's house. During the first act of the musical, Benny rings up to tell them that they have to pay up on last year's rent, and begins to comfort Alison, telling her that they'll learn from what he is forcing them to do.Rent (song) Benny shows up to the building, and gives them a choice: convince Maureen to cancel the protest and stay there for free, or let her protest continue, and have to pay rent.You'll See Benny is at Maureen's show, and it breaks out into a riot (which the police started) and the police Benny had on standby take action.Over The Moon Benny is at the Life Cafe after Maureen's show, where everyone had planned to have a party. Benny comes over to congratulate Maureen's try, but says that it didn't work. He confronts Mimi, and asks her if she has revealed that they had been together in the past to Roger. Eventually, embarrassed, Benny leaves, and lets them celebrate. After the events of Christmas, Benny shows up far less. While he was the one to lock up the apartment, Benny ends up offering the others a truce. None of them agree to it, and Benny reveals that Mimi seduced him into doing it.Happy New Year He attends (and ends up paying for) Angel's funeral with Mimi, and the ceremony afterwards.Goodbye Love He acts very possessive towards Mimi during this time, saying that she promised to never talk to Roger Davis, her currently ex-boyfriend, ever again. However, when she expresses a need to get off of drugs, Benny tells her that he'll pay. Some point before Christmas Eve the next year, Alison finds out about Benny's relationship with Mimi, and pulls the two apart. This is the last we hear about Benny.Finale Portrayals Taye Diggs Taye originated the Role of Benny in the 1996 Broadway premiere of RENT. The musical also starred his future spouse Idina Menzel. He reprised the role, along with most of the original cast, for the 2005 movie adaptation and went on to be nominated in the Best Cast category of the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for the role. He did not win. Karlo Valdez Karlo played Benny in the Ending HIV Season of Rent in Auckland at the Playhouse Theater. Rodney Hicks Rodney played Benny in the 2008 filmed final performance of RENT on Broadway. Mario Dewar In 2019, FOX television network aired a "live" adaptation of RENT. The adaptation was not actually live, but previously recorded due to the injury of a cast member. Singer Mario Dewar Barrett portrayed Benny. Category:Characters